Four-door vehicles conventionally include an A-pillar forward of the front door, and a B-pillar between the front door and the rear door. The A-pillar, roof, B-pillar, rocker panel, and a front body panel thus define the front door opening. Similarly, the B-pillar, roof, rocker panel, and a rear body panel define the rear door opening. Each of the doors includes an inner surface that includes a raised inner portion and a relatively recessed peripheral portion.
A pair of peripheral seals is provided for each of the front and rear doors. Essentially, a first seal is secured to the vehicle body so as to surround the door opening and seats against a raised inner portion of the door. The second seal is disposed around the periphery of the door (i.e., outwardly adjacent the recessed portion), and seats against a sealing surface surrounding the door opening. Accordingly, the first seal is a relatively inner seal and the second seal is a relatively outer seal.
With such conventional vehicles, the B-pillar cooperates with the front and rear doors to seal the lower rear corner of the front door and the lower front corner of the rear door, respectively. More specifically, the bottom end of the B-pillar includes a pair of oppositely directed curved surfaces that smoothly merge with the front and rear rocker panels, respectively. An outer sealing surface is provided on a first or outer side of the B-pillar curved surface against which a portion of the second seal engages. Similarly, the B-pillar surface has a portion of the first seal secured thereto against which the raised inner portion of the door seals. Accordingly, in conventional four-door vehicles, the B-pillar is essential in sealing the front and rear doors to the vehicle body.
Unfortunately, in four-door vehicles lacking a conventional, separate B-pillar, such as vehicles having a front door and a rear door that open in opposite directions and overlap at rearward and forward edges thereof, respectively, the foregoing conventional sealing arrangement is not possible. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a method and device for sealing such front and rear doors to one another and the host vehicle body. There further exists a need in the art for an adapter to permit a front door that is ordinarily used on a vehicle including a conventional B-pillar to be used on a vehicle lacking a conventional B-pillar.
The present invention is directed toward an improved sealing system that is specially adapted for use on a vehicle lacking a conventional, separate B-pillar and in which the front and rear doors open in opposite directions and at least partially overlap along their adjacent edges. The present invention is further directed toward an adaptor that is a part of the improved sealing system and serves to extend the seal carried on the front door to a position in which it may sealingly engage the rear door.
In accordance with the present invention, a front door has a hinged forward end and a free rearward end. A first or door opening seal is secured to a vehicle body around the door opening while a second or front door seal is secured to an inner periphery of the front door. The front door defines a first sealing surface that extends around the front door and generally surrounds associated portions of the second or door opening seal when the front door is closed.
The vehicle body defines a second sealing surface that surrounds the door opening. When the front door is closed, the door opening seal is seated on the first sealing surface provided by the front door and the front door seal is seated on the second sealing surface provided by the vehicle body.
In further accordance with the present invention, a gusset or corner piece, which serves as an adaptor, is secured to a lower rear corner of the front door. The gusset has a portion of the front door seal secured thereto and serves to extend the seal toward a lower rear corner of the front door so that the front door seal is positioned to sealingly engage the rear door.
In further accordance with the present invention, a rear door includes a hinged rearward end and a free forward end. The rear door defines a third sealing surface that cooperates with the second sealing surface to provide a generally continuous surface inwardly adjacent the front door and against which the front door seal seats when the front and rear doors are closed. A lower front corner of the rear door has a boot secured thereto, the boot being integral with a third or rear door seal and defining a sealing surface, which is a portion of the third sealing surface, against which the portion of the front door seal carried by the gusset seats so as to seal the lower portions of the front and rear doors to one another.
The third or rear door seal is separated into a first part and a second part. The first part of the rear door seal is disposed adjacent the periphery of the forward end of the rear door, and more specifically on the outward facing side of the forward end of the rear door, and seats on the first sealing surface of the front door. When the front and rear doors are closed, the first part of the rear door seal is disposed rearwardly and outwardly relative to the portion of the front door seal that extends along the rearward end of the front door. Accordingly, the rearward end of the front door overlaps the forward end of the rear door when the front and rear doors are closed. The second part of the rear door seal extends along the upper, rearward, and lower peripheral ends of the rear door and seats against the second sealing surface provided by the vehicle body.
The rear door also provides a fourth or inwardly facing rear door sealing surface that seats against the door opening seal provided around the door opening when the rear door is closed. Like the front door seal, the second part of the rear door seal is disposed outwardly relative to the door opening seal when the rear door is closed against the vehicle body and essentially surrounds the associated portions of the door opening seal.
In further accordance with the present invention, the gusset or corner piece extends the outer front door seal downwardly and outwardly toward the tip of the lower rear corner of the front door, and permits sealing engagement between the boot and the front door seal. Accordingly, at least a portion of the second sealing surface is provided by the resilient boot of the rear door, and defines a seal-on-seal type engagement.